Gift guide

It’s that time of year. When I can no longer ignore the impending inevitability of the question.

What do you want for Christmas?

I don’t have anything particular in mind yet — I know I’ve seen things that have caught my eye and that I really should have made a note of — but I have been thinking about it in general terms and this is what I came up with.

Something I haven’t done before. Something new to play with. A craft kit for something that’s not card making or mixed media.

I love having kits on hand for those times when my mojo deserts me, for the start of the New Year when I am fed up of making cards, for after my birthday when, chances are, I am feeling grumpy, for times when my creative confidence is low and I want to try something I can’t expect myself to be brilliant at.

I love having a little stash of kits for when I just feel like doing something different… I only started making cards after my other half bought me a Christmas card kit.

Things like the sunprint kit on my shelves. Or the couple of needle felting kits (a fox and a hedgehog). The colour resin crystal set. Or the We R Memory Keepers heatwave foil pen. Or even the wooden R2-D2 model kit waiting to be assembled.

I will always appreciate handmade gifts. It doesn’t even have to be arty — my other half tinkers with electronics so I have a growing collection of things with blinking lights 🙂

Or pretty things. If it’s a bit unusual, all the better. Etsy is your friend. I rarely wear jewellery, but I do like it: necklaces (on a long chain), brooches, enamel pins… Little pots and boxes (they have to be small, I have very little shelf space).

Books. My current to-read pile is not small, but I will always find space for more. Art, design, crafts, colour, how-tos or history of; books are always welcome.

And if all else fails, there’s always the Amazon wishlist (which I really must declutter)…